Spectacular World-Chapter 215: The Little Goblin

Stories...

What is a story?

Humans have always had a strange addiction to telling stories. Poets, playwrights, and authors. They've existed for just as long as humanity. Storytelling is a job that will likely never vanish off the face of the Earth.

There is one piece of storytelling that addicts more than others, however.

Heroes.

They could be found everywhere. Tales of knights saving their kingdom, rebels fighting against tyrannical warlords, or even just simple cowboys fighting for what's right.

When it comes to heroes, people can't seem to get enough of them. So much so that they needed more. The heroes themselves needed to be more.

They needed to be Super...

Stories and their connection to Supers have been around since the beginning. This is one such story. The story of a Super. One who watched their whole world come and go in the blink of an eye. One who struggled to do what they thought was right despite how badly they were hurt. One who had suffered so much they just wanted to make the pain stop, and never feel again.

This is the story of a miserable, disgusting, freak of a goblin. A nasty little creature that should have died in the hole it was born in, but instead managed to crawl its way out of danger time and time again. Because no matter how much this goblin hated itself, no matter how much it ripped and teared at its flesh, the world seemed to love it. Or at least it loved its suffering.

The story of the goblin starts how you might have expected.

'A 'goblin' was born. Twisted and ugly, he was raised in the dark beneath the ground. He looked like how you might expect. Frail, skin and bones, with ratty hair, and eyes full of hate. The only thing the goblin knew was the 'princess.' She was a washed-up corpse of a woman who had been buried deep beneath the walls of a 'castle' and forced to take care of the goblin. The goblin loved the princess. She was his mother after all. The woman hated the goblin. He was the one who shackled her to her prison. The two lived in the dark and were only allowed to eat when the 'king' would bring them food. The king was the owner of the castle and the one who forced the princess into her cell. He loved the princess, and it was for that reason he locked her away, because the goblin wasn't his kid. The goblin was the monster that had ruined his princess. That had tainted her. The goblin's mere existence was a sin in the king's eyes, yet in the end, he still could not bring himself to kill the goblin, and so instead, he settled for a punishment. For defying him, the princess was locked away with her spawn, forced deep underground where the sun would never shine.'

'The goblin liked the dark. The goblin had never seen light before. The goblin would do anything for the princess since she was all he knew. For years, the goblin and the princess remained underground, in the dark, in the cold. As the goblin's love grew, so did the pit of hate that began to fester in the princess. Sometimes, the princess would scream at the goblin, and other times, she would hit him or even choke him until he stopped moving. There were days when she thought about killing the goblin. Maybe then the king would take her back and forgive her. She didn't, though, because while the king was scary, there was a thing above him that the princess feared more. The one who had put the goblin in her belly in the first place. The 'knight'. The princess was terrified of what the knight would do if she were to kill his son, and so, despite her hate, she would hold the goblin close at night. She would apologize over and over again, and she would cry and cry and cry, seeking forgiveness. The goblin did not cry. He did not know how to. He was not allowed to. The king did not like it when the goblin made any sound.'

'Then the 'monster' came. It was a great big entity, forged of light that brought destruction in its wake. It arrived in the king's 'kingdom' and raised it to the ground. The monster was so dangerous that the kingdom was torn to the ground. The castle that the princess and the goblin were buried under collapsed and crushed the world that the goblin had come to know. The princess and the king died and were buried even further underground, but the goblin did not. The goblin's fingers clawed, and he dug and soon climbed out of the debris, and at last, he made his way to the top and into the outside. The ball of fire in the sky hurt the goblin's eyes, and the sight of the monster battling the knight created a new emotion in the goblin. One that it had never felt before. The goblin crawled through the wreckage of the kingdom, over broken bodies and burning stone, desperate to survive for the first time in its miserable life. Soon, the goblin came across someone in a similar situation as him.'

'The goblin discovered a wounded 'wolf'. A powerful hound whose leg had been crushed by the collapsing of the kingdom. She was a mighty beast of a wolf and, in fact, was the daughter of a 'devil'. Just like the goblin, she had been cast out and thrown away. She had been forced to live underground and devour lesser creatures to survive. The goblin viewed her as perfect. The goblin loved the wolf. She was all he had now. He freed the wolf and carried her out of the kingdom, and the two journeyed far. Together, they had each other and a whole world that they could explore. While the knight battled with the monster, the goblin helped the wolf escape the kingdom, which hurt them so much. Gone were their shackles, and gone was the cruel king and princess. At last, these two miserable creatures had someone who understood them. They lived happily ever after.'

'At least, that's how the story should have gone... It didn't, though. Instead, years later, the goblin would be forced to watch as the wolf was killed by the knight. That day, a piece of the goblin died as well. The goblin vowed not to be small or weak after that. The goblin wanted to become like the stories it had read about. The goblin wanted to become a giant.'

***

Jack groaned and weakly tried to turn over. His head ached, and the world around him was spinning. His costume, the one made to look like Full Monarch, had become a burned mess, dripping down his flesh. His chest had become blackened and burned, and blue fire danced along his back. Once more, the world despaired.

Jack didn't give up, though.

"D- Damn it. Stand up." Through gritted teeth, Jack shoved himself back up, ignoring the way his body screamed at him. He weakly looked around. One of his eyes ignited with a faint blue glow, the iris shifting, but his other eye remained dull and brown. "Is anyone still alive?" He called out, spitting out some blood and broken teeth. "Or did I just get myself blown up for no reason?"

His power hadn't fully recovered despite beating Aarush. It would still take a bit for his imaginary energy to build back up. With only one of his eyes changed, he only had access to about half of his power now. That meant no constructs, portals, or giants. He debated killing himself, but with how his body worked, he'd need to blow himself up again since even blowing his brains out wouldn't be enough to put him down quickly. He could try self detonating again, but that would just harm the others, and he couldn't even send them away in a portal again since the Emperor would just bring them back with Story Maker. Worse yet, if he did try his self-destruct act, the Emperor could teleport him to a city or something. That meant that option was no longer on the table. Besides, he didn't want to die again anyway. He needed to avoid that unless he was left with no choice.

Jack scanned the crater the battle was taking place in and took note of the fact that everyone was down. Even Lucifer and Legend. No one was dead, though. When Aarush began to explode, he threw himself over the body to try and absorb most of the energy. The blast had still zapped everyone, leaving them dazed and unconscious, though it wouldn't last for very long. This was his chance. He needed to find Hell Hound's weapon, and he'd be able to take out all the Rulers!

Jack's ears perked a bit when he heard the sound of crunching stone. He stood back up fully and grunted, turning to face the one other person who was left standing.

Nier's helmet was destroyed, revealing the man's blonde hair, which was more gray than yellow, and his fiery red eyes, which glared back at Jack. His armor was cracked and dented, and in one hand, he held Story Maker, while in the other, he dragged the unconscious Victorian by the hair. The Emperor tossed the woman away, not even bothering to glance at her as he kept his gaze fixed entirely on Jack. Nier glanced Jack up and down, studying the other man's costume, taking in its appearance, and finally, his lips twisted into a sneer.

"Really now," Nier raised an eyebrow. "You went and got Full Monarch's costume dirty. You know, despite how many fights he got in, his suit rarely got destroyed or harmed. It's because almost nothing was ever able to even reach him. I'm not shocked that a cheap knockoff wasn't anywhere near as good as his. Then again, that's all you were being, right? Some sort of cheap knockoff? Tell me, what exactly was the plan? Did you even have one? I'm genuinely wondering. What were you heroes even trying to do? You all just charged in here, and for what? Have any of you actually won a fight since you got here? Oh, but I'm betting you just thought it would all work out in the end, right? After all, the good guys always win? You're still the same childish brat you always were, using imagination to carry you along. We're not in a fake world, though. Silly little thoughts like that won't be enough to save you. You're not a giant; you're just a sad little boy playing pretend. Just like how you used to pretend your childhood was more fantastical. What is it you used to pretend to be? Oh, wasn't it a goblin? Yeah, something like that suits you way more."

"A goblin is weak and small. Everything I'm not." Jack said flatly.

"I don't know." Nier let out another chuckle. "From the way it looks to me, you seem more like that than a giant. All small and pathetic, thinking they can make a difference. Trying to picture the world as something else so they can escape it. It's so fitting you got imagination as literal superpower, yet you're so fucked up you can't even do anything creative with it. If I had that power, my family wouldn't have died." Nier's smile faded, and he glared at Jack. "Instead, you were blessed with that amazing gift. A total dumbass that's to busy filling his head with giants because he wants to be big and strong, all because he slightly suffered as a kid."

"I hate you." Jack popped his shoulder back into place and winced. "The day that I met you, I really wish I turned your offer down or even killed you back then. I still wake up in a cold sweat every day, thinking about how many lives could have been saved if I had just killed you when I had the chance. I really was just a naive child back then. That's why I'm going to write the wrongs and kill you here and now."

For a moment, Jack found himself taken back to that time. He could recall the rain that poured and the look in Nier's eyes when the man offered him his hand. He had been just a brat back then, one who was cold and starving, willing to do anything, even become a weapon known as Alpha, all so the pain could stop. Would the world have been better if he had just died? If that nameless child was killed. How many lives would have been saved? Would Full Monarch still be alive?

The memory faded, and Jack found himself back in the present, staring Nier down.

Nier's lip twisted again, and the man twirled Story Maker. "You know, that costume truly doesn't suit you." Nier clicked his tongue and suddenly smirked. "You aren't the one who will carry on Jackson's legacy. You don't even have a right to carry that name. We both know who really shaped you into the person you are today. You're a traitorous bastard, one who I loathe with all of my heart, but at the end of the day, you're still someone I once called son. Here. Let father help you out." Story Maker glowed. "Fix up his outfit, Avalon."

Jack's eyes went wide as he felt a weight suddenly engulf him. Cold metal touched his body, and his voice came out muffled. He glared down at his hands through the helmet he wore and found gauntlets covering them. The helm he wore had sharp twisting horns coming out the side of it, and he was dressed head to toe in black shadowy armor with a long flowing cape behind him. He was in the armor of the Emperor.

"There!" Nier laughed. "That outfit suits you much better, don't you think? Isn't this how you used to dress? Back when I was creating the persona of the Emperor, it was you who came up with this outfit. A childish attempt to look scary, complete with spiked horns, and lacking all color. Though I guess it did have some charm to it since I based the Emperor's suit on your design."

The suit of armor had been created out of metal that came from the Beast's spaceship, as well as the robotic suits it would pilot. Nier had managed to swipe a bunch from Mr. Sini long ago, and just like with the Pods, the metal was special. Nier had made several suits out of them both for him and his little Alpha. Back then, Alpha had loved them, pouring all his heart and soul into the persona of the Emperor.

Now, though, Jack felt white hot rage explode through his veins. Jack ripped the helmet off and slammed it into the ground, and then grabbed the cape, tearing it off of him. He tossed it away, his blue eye igniting in fire as he screamed. "How dare you!"

Nier's grin just grew, and he stabbed Story Maker deep into the ground. The two armored men began to approach each other. "Avalon, the moment anyone tries to leave this crater, bring them back." The sword glowed, and with that as their signal, their battle began.

Jack lunged forward with a scream and struck out with a right hook. His fist slammed into Nier's face, breaking the man's nose, and Jack twisted his fist, adding a spin to the strike. Not to be outdone, Nier smashed his palm out, smacking it directly into Jack's ear and sending a ringing sensation through the man's head. Next, Nier grabbed Jack by the arm and twisted the limb, shoving Jack away. Jack felt the bones in his arm snap, and the limb began to break, but before the bone could snap, he kicked back, smashing his foot directly into Nier's gut, causing the man to let go of him. Nier winced in pain and reached out, grabbing a fistful of Jack's hair and yanking the man's face onto his fist.

"Do you have any idea how much I despise you?" Nier asked through gritted teeth. "You took my daughter away from me. You stole everything I had left. You betrayed me! After everything I did for you! You're just one big failure! My biggest mistake!" Nier took his clawed hand and rammed it into Jack's stomach, tearing a chunk of it out.

Jack howled and then growled, using his teeth to bite down onto Nier's ear. He pulled and ripped it off and then smashed his thumb into one of Nier's eyes, impaling it. "Don't blame me for your failure!" Jack headbutted the man he had once called father as hard as he could, causing Nier to stumble back. "You failed to save your wife and daughter! If you should blame anyone, it's yourself!"

Nier slapped out, slapping Jack hard across the face, and forced himself forward, ramming an elbow into Jack's throat. "Don't act as if you are better than me! You failed to save them as well!" Nier screamed. "You couldn't even keep your own wife safe! Nor could you keep that other woman alive! And now look at you! You brought her daughter to the battlefield while she's stuck in a twisted state! I'll kill her after I'm done with you!"

Jack tackled Nier to the ground and wrapped his hands around the man's throat. He lifted Nier's head up and then smashed it down into the ground over and over again. "There's a difference between me and you, though! You grew resentment toward the world because of your own shortcomings! You blamed everyone else and made it their problem that you weren't strong enough!"

"Y- You're the same as me," Nier growled, and he forced himself up, biting through Jack's armor and sinking his fangs into the man's shoulder. "You hate everyone else because you couldn't keep the ones you cherished out of danger."

Jack rammed his fist into the back of the man's head, dislodging Nier's teeth. "No! Because the person I hate more than anyone else is myself!" Jack hit the blonde man in the face as hard as he could and rammed Nier's head into the ground so hard the entire crater shook. "I hate myself!" He punched again, spilling Nier's blood. "I crave my own demise more than anybody else! I wake up every morning and just want to die, and end it all!" He grasped both his hands together and raised them above his head. "But I can't die!" He brought them down so hard the air shattered. "Some twisted cosmic joke that God thought up! Because no matter how much I beg for it to end, it just doesn't!" He tangled his fingers in Nier's hair and lifted the head up and then brought it back down into the ground, cracking the back of his skull open. "And then I have to deal with people like you! Over and over and over and over and over and over! And even you guys aren't good enough to kill me!" He jammed his thumb back into the missing eye and twisted, shoving it in deeper. "So if I'm going to suffer! If I'm going to be forced to exist in a world where evil like you exists! Then I'm going to make it your problem! I'll kill you again and again and again and again until I grow even more numb than I've already become!" Jack stood up, and keeping his thumb in Nier's eye, he began to drag the man toward the sword. "Maybe one day it will end. I'll be able to close my eyes and never have to worry about waking up again. I'll be able to rot in hell. That's only going to happen, though, once I make sure people like you can never harm anyone ever again!"

Jack forced Nier's face toward the blade and pulled it back, about to slam Nier's head into it, but the shadows beneath the blade suddenly swallowed it up. Nier's hand twisted, and from his own shadow, the sword flew out, and he caught it, twisting himself around. He sliced out with the sword and split Jack's stomach open. Crimson flowed out, and Jack gurgled, but before he could recover, Nier rammed the handle of the sword directly into Jack's head.

"Poor little Alpha." Nier sneered and brought his sword up. "All alone in the world, forced to suffer. You're pathetic. I hate you. I despise you. I wish we never met."

"That makes two of us." Jack spat out. "You're the wost-"

Nier impaled the sword directly through Jack's glowing eye. The blade stabbed all the way through and went out the back of his head. He let go of the handle and watched as Jack roared in pain. Jack's entire body twitched and his arms slapped out at the air as he struggled to grab the handle that was poking out of his face. His remaining eye tried to focus, but it was no use. The world was fading in and out, bluring together, as everything began to twist. Earlier he had died from a decpitation, only because it had been the Dead Virus which caused it. The Virus had instantly eaten away at him, but his status as Ruler prevented Lucifer from getting his soul. Since this wasn't the Dead Virus, he wasn't dying, even as the sword began to scramble his brain. His body had always been bizarre, able to function without a heart and missing parts, as if he were some sort of zombie. Eventually, he'd die if his brain was destroyed enough or his head was torn clean off, but even that would take a while.

The agony was maddening, and he tried to speak, but his words came out slurred. He couldn't even tell what was happening anymore. Memories were literally dripping down the side of his head, gushing out of his skull.

"Suffer." Nier stalked forward and rammed his fist directly into Jack's stomach. "Feel the pain you caused me!" He kicked out as hard as he could, shattering Jack's left leg and downing the man. "Don't worry, though; I won't let you die." Nier sneered. "Your body would recover fully. I'm just going to chop off every single one of your limbs and rip your brain up till it can't function. At least until I can figure out how to properly get rid of you, or use you the correct way."

Jack slaps out, missing Nier as the world keeps spinning. He tried to throw another punch, but it was impossible to stand on his broken leg, and the sword jutting through his head made balance next to impossible. Jack tumbled forward, and suddenly, he no longer found himself in the crater fighting the Emperor. As his memories swirled and leaked, he found himself staring at another version of himself.

"So, allow me to start by saying that I can't tell either of you anything." Jack forced himself to look up, groaning as he did so, and found himself reliving a memory that happened a few weeks ago. Three people sat around a table. Lightning Empress, who had been the one to speak, Beta, and finally, himself. Battery was propped on the table, wearing his old costume and only grunted, causing Lightning Empress's grin to grow. "There was a Path my father once saw. He first discovered it several years ago during one of his battles when he fought you Battery. See, there are trillions of different Paths, but this one was special because it was the only Path that my father found that had the most amount of happiness in it."

Beta's eye glowed a bit, and he let out a soft hum. "What do you mean by it had the most happiness behind it?" The machine questioned.

"There are different outcomes that can happen in any situation, and many of them all lead to other outcomes later down the line," Lois explained. "Like following a road that will eventually split off into other roads. Dad would always decide what Path he wanted to follow by seeing what other Paths it would lead to and how happy those Paths were for all the outcomes. So if he saw two different Paths that each had a few good outcomes, he would then judge what comes after them to pick which one he wanted to follow."

"And this Path is special since it had the best outcome no matter what?" Battery asked, folding his arms.

Lois nodded her head. "Yep! That's correct! This particular story is very special, and it involves you, Battery! See, once this Path has been followed and selected, it doesn't matter what happens next because the outcome is the best no matter what! Most Paths will split off into four, or maybe five, different future Paths, and of those Paths, only a few will have good endings. This Path though, it has thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, and each one, every single one in fact, all splits off into further Paths that all split off more, each one being good! It literally is an infinite Path of good endings no matter what is selected! My Dad chose to die, all so I could get his power, because that's how much this Path meant to him. He followed it to the letter. It's why he never tried to tell Hope about her powers earlier or barely interfered because he wanted to walk this Path so badly, and dictated every choice he made to leading to it."

"If Max Lightning truly knew such a thing existed, why didn't he say anything?" Beta asked.

"Because that can break the Path," Lois stated. "The more you know, the easier it is to break."

"So then why are you telling us this now?" Battery demanded.

"Because that's part of the story." Lois giggled. "Also, it's because this Path is kind of hard to reach. See, it's a single branch at the bottom, meaning only a very specific route can actually get you onto this segment. That's why I have the two of you here now so I can explain it." Lois eyed the two heroes up. "Beta, you're needed because you can fill in the dots and improvise, being a machine. You can calculate the best situations, including things I may miss. I can't see every detail due to there being so many powerful Supers involved, so I need your help to ensure we don't stray from the Path. As for you, Battery, you're needed because you happen to be the main character in this story." She smirks. "You're the most important person to getting this story to work, so I'm going to tell you a few things that you need to remember."

Jack watched in pain as the past version of himself nodded. "Okay." Battery stated. "What do I need to do."

Lois leaned over the table and pointed at him her smirk growing. "You have to lose!"

"What?" Battery frowned.

"You heard me." Lois giggled again. "You need to lose. Actually, we all need to lose."

"How is that a happy ending?"

"Trust me. It is." Her eyes sparkled a bit. "It's just the first part. We have to set the stage for you to fight the Emperor and the other Rulers. The good guys have to reach a bad ending, though. It's the only way for humanity as a whole to get the best amount of good endings. So no matter what we have to reach this bad point. The first step is for you to try your best but, in the end, not be able to finish what you started. You have to lose. When that happens, Beta will come in and make sure we can recover from the loss. He'll know what to do when the time comes. The next thing you need to know is that you're going to have to stab Hope."

"What!"

"Trust me, you'll understand it in the moment!" Lois laughed at his outburst. "You have to do it. You'll know why, and you'll know what will become of you after. The last and final thing you need to know is this." Lois jabbed her finger directly into Battery's heart. "No matter what she says, no matter how much she cries or begs, no matter what emotions you feel, you can't go along with what Hope says. You have to deny her. You have to force yourself to move forward. Don't let her words convince you. Ignore her in her hour of need."

Battery was silent for several moments but then slowly nodded. "Okay. I think I can manage that. And if all of that happens, we get a happy ending?"

Lois nodded. "The whole world wins. Not even the Beast could ruin it. Trust me, out of every other Path, this one alone is the only one where humanity truly becomes free."

Jack stumbled to his feet and limped toward Lois. He tried to reach out and grab her, but his fingers just phased right through her. "Lois." He gasped out, struggling to form proper words. "Please. I need to know. Am I doing it right? Am I on the right Path? Is all of this worth it? Do we all make it out of this way we should?"

"One more thing." Battery suddenly said. "This Path... Do I die at the end?"

Lois gave the man a sad smile and shook her head. "No. You get a much worse fate than that. You'll know what you must become when the time comes. You'll be the obstacle that sets the world on a bad ending, but you'll also be the very same being that pulls it back. You'll live a life of suffering, wishing for death, and be remembered as the greatest villain to ever live."

Battery nodded and closed his eyes. "I see. So be it then."

Jack stared at his reflection and, letting out a growl, he tried to punch him. His hand went straight through, and before he could even think of trying again, he felt a sharp pain in his side, and the memory exploded as Jack once again found himself back in the crater. Nier stabbed his hand into Jack's side, shattering several ribs, and he pulled his hand back.

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Nier chuckled, and his look grew dark. "Actually, I don't care." He reached out and grabbed the sword poking out of Jack's face. "You're finished." He ripped it out, causing Jack to yell in pain again. "Shut up already!" Nier brought the sword down again and sliced it directly into Jack's good leg, slicing it off.

Jack grunted and rolled onto his belly and began to crawl away. In front of him, he saw the destroyed remains of Aarush. The world was still spinning, and he could barely focus, but he knew what he needed to do. If he could just find Hell Hound's weapon, he could come up with some sort of plan B or something.

Jack forced himself along the ground and reached forward with all his strength. Suddenly, the world began to shatter and break apart, and he once again found himself staring at a memory. This time, he was on the roof of a building in the ruins of Oleander, sometime after the battle with the Beast.

Battery stood at the edge of the city watching the people down below as they struggled along through the remains of their home. "So," A voice called out from behind, as the Victorian floated down. "Why did you want to see me." Battery turned around and tossed something to the woman and with lightning fast reflexes she tossed it. She looked down and raised an eyebrow finding a worn baseball. "What?" She just asked.

"Wanna play a game of catch?" Battery asked.

The world's strongest woman stared down at the ball silently. "Nah. That sounds dumb." She crushed the ball, turning it to dust.

"Oh." Battery blinked, taken aback. "Huh."

The Victorian giggled and floated over to the man sitting down next to him. She stared down at the city watching as the Giants began to rebuild. There was one other person she had her eye on. Down below, Hope Lauren walked the streets with Sky Sini. "Did you come to see her?" The Victorian asked. It was just after Hope got her body back, the girl finally looking like her old self.

Battery shook his head. "I've created a field around us that keeps all noise silent. I did it because I don't want her to see us or know that we're here."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not ready yet." Battery looked up at the sky, his eyes flashing with emotion. "I wanted to make a better world. I still do. I was willing to turn her into the weapon that would do it. After she died, I threw all my emotions away and tried to become like my old self. Back then, I felt like I could do anything, but I guess I still can't escape the fact that I changed. I'm not Alpha; I'm Jack Larison. I was willing for a time to turn her into a weapon. I thought I could mold her into the next Full Monarch. When she died, though, I decided I was done with that idea. I don't want her to be forced down that road. I want her to live her life the way she wants. The way she didn't get to do. I'm tired of kids being forced to follow the road some adult lays out for them just because that adult thinks that they know what's best."

"So, are you planning on turning yourself into a weapon then?" The woman asked quietly.

Battery nodded. "Yeah." He stated. "I... I want to be the only one that suffers. The only one who gets hurt. I need your help for that, though. I need you to play a role so I can free everyone else. It won't be forever, but for a bit, I'll need you to serve as my weapon."

The Victorian frowned a little. "What are you planning?"

"Something that will save the world."

The Victorian looked into his eyes and stayed silent for several moments. Finally, she let out a soft snort. "You and I really are screwed up huh. We're both fuck ups it seems." The woman dropped onto her back and stared up at the sky, reaching out for it. "Things were so much easier back when I was Ruby Admiral. Being a hero is hard. Being the number one hero is even harder. Maybe living as a mindless tool that is pointed at the enemy won't be so bad. What do you need me to do?"

"When the time comes, I need you to give up your gift."

"Huh!" Jill suddenly sat up and stared back at Battery with wide eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

Battery looked at her and gave a sad smile. "I need the Victorian to die."

Jack watched as the memory faded, and he found himself reaching out for the corpse of Aarush. Before his hand could make contact with it, though, his hand was sliced off as Nier brought the sword down.

"Yeah, that's not happening." Nier laughed and kicked out as hard as he could, ramming his foot into Jack's side and launching him away from the body. He stalked forward and sliced out with his sword again, cutting Jack's other leg off, and then finally his arm. After that, he rammed his blade out, digging it into Jack's stomach. "I noticed you got a lot more quiet!" Nier brought his foot up and slammed it down onto Jack's face. "What's wrong! Not so talkative now?"

"F- Fuck you."

"Enlightening," Nier growled and removed his foot. He lifted his sword up, Jack's body still impaled on the end of it, and he ripped the blade out. His fingers dug into the top of Jack's skull as he held the man up by the head. "Now. You keep babbling about something. Let's see what that's been about." Shadows began to collect around Nier's hand, and his fingers stabbed past Jack's skull as he forced them in. Just like how he had once done with Hope, he began to tear into Jack's mind. Unlike Hope, though, Jack's brain was an utter mess, fried and on the verge of melting. It was next to impossible to sort through the literal ocean of burning thoughts. "Damn you." Nier scowled. "Whatever. Keep your secrets." The shadows began to twist once again.

Jack hissed in pain, feeling his head start to split. He tried thrashing around, but there was nothing of himself left to give. Was this it? Was this the thing Lois had told him? Was he following the correct Path? He certainly hoped so because it was the only way the suffering he was feeling could be worth it.

"I guess in the end this is your story." Nier laughed. "How worthless you were."

"S- Story..." Jack's other eye began to glow, and a crackle of black lightning zapped out. "What even is my story?" Jack opened his mouth as wide as he could, and before Nier could drop him, a beam of black energy blasted out, burning off one half of Nier's head and causing the Emperor to scream in pain and drop Jack. His power was finally starting to return. A portal opened beneath Jack, and he used it to move himself directly above Nier. As he dropped, he closed his mouth directly onto Nier's nose, hanging on with his teeth. Jagged, dark hands forged from lightning ripped their way out of his back, forming makeshift arms and legs, and he pulled back, with his teeth tearing off part of Nier's face. He stabbed his new arms directly through Nier and twisted, ripping the man in two and throwing his legs one way and his torso the other. "Don't worry." Jack grabbed at the metal chest piece of the Emperor's armor he had been forced to wear and began to rip it off. "You'll live. Wouldn't want to kill you after all." He grunted.

Nier clutched onto his sword and twitched, staring down at his missing legs in shock. "You bastard." He lifted Story Maker and coated it in black fire. Then he plunged it into his own skull. The fire howled and then exploded Nier's head.

Darkness rippled out, and Nier's corpse and destroyed armor began to put itself back together. "Rise, my Ruler. My Shadow. My Void. Wake up, my Devil." The Emperor fully formed, his helmet back on.

"No choice." Battery charged up a ball of energy in his hand and rammed it into his face, blowing it to bits just as the Emperor had done. This would be the last one. His final revival. He promised. He swore. He just had to do it. He had to keep going. He just needed a bit more power. He was so close. As the energy began to crackle around him, Jack found himself floating in a wave of darkness, nothing around. He felt part of himself break. Memories crumbled and shattered, melting, and emotions were dragged out of him by force.

"Rise, my Ruler. My creation. My destruction. My little Alpha. Wake up, my Giant."

Blue and black twirled together as his body fully restored itself, and much to his annoyance, he was back in the armor of the Emperor. Jack ripped the helmet off once more and charged up his power, fully restored. The Emperor stared him down, gathering up a wave of shadows. "Let's finish this." He opened up a portal, now that his power had fully returned, and ripped Hell Hound's weapon out of it.

The Emperor pointed Story Maker at him. "Agreed."

Battery sliced out, sending a wave of blue energy toward the villain, but the Emperor charged through it, cloaking himself in darkness. As soon as he landed on the other side, he fired out a wave of jagged darkness toward Battery, but Battery blocked it with Hell Hound's weapon. He created another sword, a jagged blue claymore, in his other hand and struck out with it, but the Emperor blocked it with Story Maker. The two men screamed at each other as loudly as they could as their weapons clashed. The Emperor created another sword out of darkness and impaled it through Battery's leg, but Battery countered by slamming Hell Hound's weapon through the Emperor's stomach.

"I hate you!"

"I hate you more!" Battery rammed his head into the Emperor's helmet so hard it exploded, allowing him to once again see the face of Nier. "Die!"

"You first!" Nier slammed his knee into Battery's gut, throwing the man back. "Rise, my Polaron!" From the darkness, the shadowy image of Polaron began to lift up, and the jagged metal corpse of Aarush was sent flying at Battery.

"Rip him in two my Giants!" Black lightning exploded out, taking on the armored form of a Giant, which tore through the metal and crushed Polaron.

The Emperor jumped up and sliced through the Giant and came crashing out on the other side. "Alpha!"

"That's not my name!"

Both of them impaled each other once again, running their swords through one another.

The entire world watched. No one was cheering anymore. Neither good nor evil were rooting for either side. They all wanted the same thing. They just wanted this mindless spree of hate to end.

Battery and the Emperor tore away from one another, spilling more of their blood, which poured out of them and bathed the field red. Both men panted, and both somehow looked even more exhausted than they had been, despite their free extra life, which should have fully restored them. Memories flood both of their heads. Nier recalled the first time he had gained his son, how he had taken the boy in, raised him, trained him, gave him his prized sword and armor, and made him his loyal giant. Meanwhile, Jack recalled how he had been yelled and slapped at for every mistake, no matter what he did he could never live up to the hole Sky had left in Nier's heart. He hadn't been a son. He had just been another tool.

With another yell, they both sliced their swords out, sending a wave of energy. Blue and black met and resulted in an explosion that shook everything, even the planet itself, kicking up an endless sea of debris and expanding the crater ten times over, and yet still it was not enough. Father and son, weapon and master, hero and villain, Devil and Giant, human and monster, all of it came ahead. In the end, though, there could only be one winner, and one side hadn't been playing fair from the very start.

Battery charged up another wave of energy and was about to unleash it, but he froze when he felt a pair of hands cover his ears. Long white wings covered in feathers gently wrapped around him, and he heard a hushed voice. "You've suffered quite a bit, haven't you?" Uriel of the Immortals hugged Battery in a gentle embrace. It was almost soothing. Uriel's arms grew tighter, and his hands began to glow. "Suffer some more."

Battery blinked, and in an instant, he was no longer in the crater. Now, he was in a place that looked like something straight out of his nightmare. It looked like some cartoonish kingdom, but it was bathed in black. Laughter echoed around him, and standing tall on the tip of the castle was the outline of a man who wore a crown.

Battery's eyes flashed with fear, and he took a step back. Then he felt his body shift, and he stared down at his hands as they began to shake and grow pale and jagged. He was shrinking. He grew smaller, his armor falling away until all that was left was a small goblin.

The ground cracked, the castle surged forward, and the goblin cried out as it was swallowed and pulled beneath the dirt, going back underground where it belonged.

In the real world, Battery collapsed...